


The journal of Scott Lang

by TheBananaDoctor



Category: Assassin's Creed III - Fandom, Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Assassin Clint Barton, Crossover, Eventual Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Scott becomes a widow, Scott gets recruited by templars, The great fire of New York, or not?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 01:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4858274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBananaDoctor/pseuds/TheBananaDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott Lang is a survivor of the first Great fire of New York -with his daughter Cassie- who had no choice but to become a thief after losing his possibilities for getting a job. After almost a year he gets a job offer from the templar order and so he becomes a templar working with one of the Pieces of Eden. That’s when he meets a mysterious man in a hood, always keeping his back, well, mostly shadowing it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The grief

**September 22nd, 1776**

The time’s around midday and the city of New York is in chaos. Well mostly the southern part of Manhattan, but it affects the whole city. Last night was horrible. The fire started out of nowhere and suddenly it had swallowed hundreds of houses. Including ours. So, that’s how I lost my previous journals, but took this empty notebook and a pencil from someones table earlier today.

Guess I should start from the beginning, not from my childhood for Gods sake, but from who I am. My name is Scott Lang and I worked as an inventor. Kind of a family business I was hoping it to become one day. Anyway I’m going to record this fire from the normal people point of view and maybe get it to the news if they accept it.

So it all started last night. My wife Margaret and I had just got our little girl, Cassandra, or Cassie is how we called her, to bed. The screams from outside were normal as we weren’t -and are now even less- rich and we lived in the poor district if you could call that one. Money was never the crucial thing in our marriage or life. It was quite an okay place to live. Until this night.

So as I was telling, the screams were pretty normal there and we didn’t pay attention to them any more than any other night. It was a mistake, a burning one. Just something like five minutes later we heard the screams from the houses next to ours and saw the red and orange flames eat down the wooden roofs. We didn’t panic, or at least show it, as we ran to see if Cassie was okay. Then we smelled the smoke coming from downstairs. In that horrible moment we looked to each other with pure horror in our eyes. She handed Cassie to me.

”Take her out! I’ll go get mother.” she said to me and in the second she was gone to the attic. I have completely forgotten to mention Margaret’s mother! She lived with us when she got sick and couldn’t take care of herself anymore. She was always so quiet that I mostly didn’t even know she was present.

As I ran out of the now flaming house with Cassie we turned to look back when we reached the other side of the road and the whole thing crashed.

”Margaret!” I said as I couldn’t think of anything else to say. We stood there without saying anything for a minute or two, but then the neighbors started to shout for us to come out of the circle of the flaming houses, I finally snapped awake. I looked at Cassie and sighed. Margaret wasn’t going to come out of there. In no miracle she couldn’t have survived the whole house coming down on her. I couldn’t stand to think of it, not yet either, too horrible, but we really needed to get away as fast as possible.

Cassie was around eight years old, but I still picked her up and starter to run as fast as I could. I ran, and ran and ran even when the fire was not in our sights anymore. I ran for Margaret, she had been the light of my life with Cassie, of course, and now she was gone.

”What’s the matter, daddy? Why did we go so far? Where’s mommy?” Cassie asked me when I finally stopped running to take a breath. I sighed and looked to the ground, then I realized that she was my kid, and I was responsible of her from now on. I needed to show her bravery and not the depression I was going to go through after this. So I lifted my face and looked her in the eye.

”It’s going to be alright… Mommy is.. Gone.. But daddy will take care of you for now..” I comforted and hugged her.

After that we went to get a shelter or something like it and in this morning we went to get food, or as much as we could get from the soup patrol people. There really were, and still are, thousands of people all hysterical and cold and thinking of their unsure future. That made me realize, that even though I lost Margaret, it should not control my thoughts right now. I have to take care of Cassie, so I can’t panic or she will too.

And so ends last night’s tragedy. I’m here sitting on the ground and leaning to a wall and writing this journal as Cassie sleeps under the blanket we share. I think it is time for us to get some place to stay for the next weeks so I will continue later.

__________________________________________________________

 

It’s night now. The day passed by fast and all we got was some bread and a tent they were giving for the people who had no place else to stay. I put it up to those parts of the city where the British soldiers, or maybe better known as Redcoats among the citizens, informed all the people to go to. I don’t even care what to call them. They sure are bossy and want to keep the order, but then again the order is not always bad. There has been many riots lately, but most of the people try to live peacefully whether they like, dislike or don’t care of the actions of the British. As I said, I myself don’t really give a fuck what they do as long as they don’t come knocking down doors and shooting people. They’re civilized people like us, not some pirates from decades ago.

 

 

**October 17th, 1776**

It is already a few weeks since the Great fire of New York, as the papers call it. The nights are cold. Well of course the autumn is already dropping the leaves out of trees and the harvest has begun. We still live in the tent, which I decided to move into a little more distant location because the British have started to interrogate the people in search for the one who might have started the fire. I still believe it was an accident, but who really knows. They have even suspected that our generals were behind it. I don’t believe that.. But what does one mans opinion matter in such a high thing. Or let’s say one other than a military person. They seriously suspect every one they think is acting strange. Probably even their own cats or something.. I really see no reason in this.

We visited Margaret’s ‘grave’, meaning the house or what’s left of it, and brought her some flowers Cassie had picked up earlier that day. I would’ve just stayed down and cried for the whole time if it wasn’t for Cassie. She always knew how to cheer me up. Even when I didn’t get any job or hardly any food, she still cheered me up with some stories of how she met some squirrel and played with it. Honestly I think her imagination is really good, and that half of her stories aren’t really true, but she’s a kid so it’s normal.

About the jobs.. I applied for many jobs, but apparently they only need the stable ones who have a house. I think that’s wrong, but what can I again do about it. I still won’t give up on looking for any possible job.

 

**December 23rd,1776**

Honestly I’ve been so busy trying to find a job and food and something to keep us warm, that I totally have forgotten to write this journal. I’ve been so busy that apparently I have already gotten over Margaret, or I think I have. Surviving in a tent outside when there’s snow is harder than I could’ve ever imagined. I have started stealing food from the markets and firewood from the farms not that far away. I don’t really like it, but we don’t have any money so I have to do it. Sometimes Cassie brings home some sticks. She’s so goodhearted, I hope this doesn’t change her at all, but makes her stronger instead.

The clothes we had when we first left the house have become a complete disaster, but luckily I snatched something a little warmer from one of the backyards where I saw a bunch of them drying. As I have kept stealing stuff, I’ve just become better with my stealth and lock picking skills. No idea if they’re useful in the end, but if we need to live like this for a long time after this I think they’ll come in handy.

Oh yeah! It’s almost Christmas… I haven’t got any present for Cassie, but I hope that the fact that we’re still alive and have quite good chances of surviving the winter is enough.. Or then I’ll just try to get some better food. That would be good.

 

**December 25th, 1776**

This day was a day that almost cost me my life.

I was in the marketplace as usual, stealing food, and for Cassie now something special. The merchants had grown weary of me. For the record I have to say I’m surprised they’ve finally noticed that after three months. There were the usual merchants and apparently some new faces too.

I was going to go for the new faces that the old ones wouldn’t get me, but I never would’ve expected the following events.

As I was taking some better bread from the stand I heard someone yell ”Thief!” from behind. My heart skipped a beat as I turned to see who yelled and froze there facing a pointed finger from one of the old merchants. He had seen. Or maybe he had suspected and saw his opportunity to get me this time. I then quickly looked around and saw some guards in red coats with their muskets yelling for me to stand here. Well that definitely was my cue to start running. Hell I wouldn’t want to get caught when I have a daughter to take care of! So I grabbed actually couple more breads, they were big ones, and started to sprint off as fast as I could without dropping any of the breads.

I ran, again, like I had ran the night of the fire, but this time there was a fast opponent or two chasing me down. My stamina was not made for long runs and apparently theirs were. They were getting close and fast. They were like only couple of meters away from me when some huge white robed man took them down and I stopped in fear. When I saw his face under the hood, he was clearly a native American. He looked at me with a worrying face and shouted:

”Go! I will take care of them!”

I did as he asked and some distance away I looked over my shoulder to see what had happened to this man. I could only see the wounded bodies of the British laying on the ground. I didn’t want to be stated as a murderer too so I kept running and got to the camp. And now we’re starting to have our Christmas meal together.

___________________________________________________________

 

Cassie was very pleased to the bread only and just more please after hearing my reckless journey to get it. After the meal she wanted to show me something.

”Daddy, daddy, I made you a present too!” she announced proudly. I smiled.

”You did? What kind of a present?” I asked with a playfully doubting smile.

”Come and see for yourself!” she pulled my hand and took me outside of the tent and just behind the tent was her present. It was basically some snowmen to me.

”You see, here is me, this is you and this is mommy! I spent the whole day working on them.” she told me and this made me want to cry. It was so sweet.

”Oh, daddy can see it now. They’re totally like us!” I laughed as I wiped clean the outer corner of my eye. ”Thank you, peanut..” I gave her a bear hug and a kiss to the forehead.

”I wish mommy was here too..” Cassie said as I put her to the ground again.

”I do too, sweetheart, I do too..” I almost got lost in my thoughts. ”But now let’s get inside and try to stay warm for the night.”

We hurried in to the tent and under the extra blankets I had stolen in the beginning of the winter.

 

**March 25th, 1777**

I kind of feel sorry for this notebook. It hasn’t got anything to fill it in these last three months. I’ve really been busy stealing stuff and avoiding the military. Though nothing has basically happened. Well, a lot has happened but the most important of them all is that we survived the cold winter! We were blessed for not getting sick.. Many people have got sick lately. Mostly the likes of us with no home. The repairs have not yet even started. It’s sad how many have actually died because of the winter.. We were lucky as Hell..

There was this one event I wanted to write about. Remember that native man who saved my life back then at Christmas? He got caught. They actually prepared a hanging for him, but I read from the papers that he escaped the gallows and killed Thomas Hickey who apparently was going to murder Washington. So many weird things happened in that event. I think I’m happy for not being there too or then I would probably again got to a somehow near death experience with this guy. I’m happy for being in his side or I think we’re at the same side. He let me run that day, so I bet he helps the city and its citizens.

There really hasn’t happened anything else notable except for that event so I guess I’m leaving this to be a short note.

 

**April 15th, 1777**

Today was a weird mixture of pure good and bad luck. I finally got caught, like physically. I’m right now sitting in a room basically tied down to a chair, but I think I’ll be released soon. I think. They let me write, so as I wait I’ll write down what happened.

I was in the harbor earlier today. It’s quite far from the camp, but I needed to change the place after that Christmas incident, so that was the best option. Besides the fish is good and sometimes some merchants are actually kind enough to give one or two fishes from their stands. With those things happening I’ve got some friend-ish people to give us food. They sometimes play that they’re giving the fish for a stray dog or cat and I get to pick them up. Too bad for the animals, but I’m a little selfish when it comes to protecting my family.

This time I didn’t see any of those fishermen anywhere so I had to find new ones. That was when I saw this one ship, a frigate I think. Big it was anyway and seemed to have something valuable as the cargo for there was so many guards. These didn’t look the same as the usual military British guys. They had slightly different outfits. I didn’t care about that in the moment and decided to try my luck.

I sneaked to the other side of the wharf and tried my newly improved jumping skills that seemed not have been as much improved as I thought. I fell to the water and two guards from the ship came to see what had splashed the water down there so much. I dove as fast as I could and kept myself from revealing this sneaky plan of mine and saw the two figures leave the side. I got up and tried not to inhale so loudly. After managing to do that I just started to climb the side of the big ship. It wasn’t that hard, but a couple of times my foot or finger slipped and I feared to fall again. Luckily that didn’t happen and I climbed all the way up to find the deck clear. There was only the cargo anymore. I thought that was a little careless of them to leave it unguarded for someone like me to come around and take couple of the wooden boxes with me while just passing by.

I pulled myself slowly and carefully on the deck and constantly minded my surroundings for anyone to come back. When I was quite sure no one was going to get me, I went to see what kind of treasures did they have in this ship. I saw one of the boxes being already open so I sneaked there and took a peek inside the box. This was….tea? Why would they guard tea so heavily? Well later I realized that they apparently feared that the destruction of the tea in Boston would happen in New York too, but I see no reason in that..

I was so confused that I did not notice my surroundings and when I felt a poke of something sharp in my back I turned around terrified of how lightly these men had stepped on the deck. So there I was, surrounded by at least ten of those weird looking guards and I must say I panicked. There was literally no escape and I thought of my life ending there. I could never see Cassie again and more importantly she would’ve lost both of her parents in a year. The guards tied me up with some rope and walked me in to one horse carriage and they drove me to somewhere close to the borders of New York. They took me to this cabin and tied me to this very same chair I’m sitting on right about now.

I waited there in complete silence for at least thirty minutes and in that whole time I tried to ask all kinds of things about this kidnapping, because I obviously had not stolen anything, yet, but I didn’t get any answers.

Finally when someone other than a guard came in, I raised my face from the table before me. This man was clearly someone highly ranked, I could see it from the looks he got from the guards. Just pure respect.

”Leave us.” he said clearly and loud. This man did not just look like someone to trust your wife and kids with. Well obviously that’s not why I was brought here, but just that you know he looked so suspicious with his not too well taken care of hair and beard. And his eyes looked like he had been drinking all night long.

”We have been watching your actions for a while now, Mister Lang.” the suspicious meter rose up pretty much in my head at that point.

”How do you know my name?” I demanded to know. The man smiled from under his thick mustache.

”Did you seriously think that some merchants would take stealing so lightly and even decide to help the thief after all?” he asked me with the most irritating voice ever.

”Well that was odd, but why not?” I told him.

”Anyway. We finally caught you in action so we had a reason to take you in. We know you have been stealing around the city and that you have a daughter and you live in the western corners of Manhattan.” That really made me horrified. This man seemed to know everything. I had never told the merchants about Cassie. What if they had got her too, I thought and made few frustrated noises while trying to get the ropes off my wrists.

”We have also seen you make contact with the assassin. Are you with them?” he asked shortly after his last pronouncements. But assassins? I definitely was really confused. Did they mean that native man from back then? I thought that he looked a bit weird with a hood so maybe he indeed was an assassin. I really didn’t know what I had got myself into this time.

”Are you?” he raised his voice as he didn’t get any answer.

”No! Why would I?? I’m just trying to survive! We lost our house in the great fire and have been living there the whole time! He just helped me to escape! That’s all..” I answered as fast as I could. ”Could you just let me go!? I didn’t steal anything from the ship!” I tried to defend myself, but then realized that he had talked about the other crimes too.

”It seems that I will not leave you just stealing around. It would be rude for the people to stand you and your little problem with food.. I’ll see you at the gallows tomorrow morning.” He finished, stood up and walked to the door. When he got there, like from some miracle come true the door opened and the slightly dark room was filled with light. Was that my angel? Well he sure was an interesting one if he was.

”What’s your statement of him?” the man in apparently navy blue long coat asked the darker one.

”Send him to the gallows. Just some scum like the rest of the thieves..” this dark interrogator stated.

”Oh Charles.. Did you even talk about the job for him?”

”Naah.. He’s all yours, master..” this man called Charles answered and walked past the man in blue. I just sat there speechless and relieved about the fact that I might have just dodged the gallows. This man in blue walked across the room to sit on the same chair the last one had. He put his triangle hat on the table and crossed his fingers while leaning over the table with his weight seemingly evaluating me.

”My name is Haytham Kenway, I’m the grand master of the templar order in the colonies. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” he started with introduction and I was stunned how polite this Mr. Kenway was. Just a little confused for the part of him being some grand master of.. templars? Like the knights templar from the crusade? Seemed weird but who knows, I took my chances with him.

”Scott Lang.. And I guess I’m just a thief anymore. There’s no inventor Lang left in me..” I stated a little depressed about the fact that I might have had a brighter future if the great fire had never happened.

”Well that could be of use, young man. Would you like to join us? I mean the templar order. It doesn’t require much faith in any Gods but just to share the ideals. We want order and that is what the people are so much against now. They need a leader to guide them to the riches but they wont accept one yet. We are destined to be the leader and to guide these people to a better future.” Kenway told me. It was pretty impressive what he just had told me.

”What do I get from it?” I made sure it wasn’t just some job what I did because I might have had the same ideals with the rest of the group.

”You will get paid a normal pay or maybe a little extra if you decide to work on this little project that needs geniuses like you to figure it out. And what I hear you lost your house in the great fire? The order will grant you a house with all the goods you need, in some limits of course, but a roof on top of your head will probably be all enough for you right now. I also heard that you have a daughter. So as you would be working quite long hours I think a nanny of some kind would be good for your child. Or maybe a teacher, if you think she requires one.” he pronounced and I went all silent for all the things they were ready to give me just that I’d join their order. He looked at me with some more of his evaluating glance as I stayed quiet. ”And of course some decent clothes would be on the list of those things.. So, what do you think?”

”Umm.. What about the assassins your friend there talked to me about? Are they like there to get me or what? The one I saw was quite friendly to me..” I suspected and he gave me a short glance of disapproval and sort of interest too.

”The assassin brotherhood is our enemy and they have always been there to stop our righteous acts. To a civilian they might seem friendly, if you ever encounter one, but trust me they want this country to stay in the chaos it now is. They don’t see the good in having a leader to guide the people.”

I was really confused, but it sure seemed right to join them. And if I didn’t do it for myself, I could always do it for Cassie. Plus we could really need a roof on top of our heads again.

”Okay.. I think I’ll say yes, but what is this extra job you were talking about?” I think that pleased him really much as he smiled to me and ordered the guard to cut my hands loose from behind my back. As I finally got them released I rubbed the parts where the rope had been to make it I don’t know, less hurting. I sure had not noticed that they were this tightly tied.

”It would be about one certain artifact. There is still this one thing you must know about the history of wars between the templar and assassin. A long time ago there were some superior people called the Ones who came before, who had mankind in their leash and as their slaves. They created the artifacts called the Pieces of Eden. Many of them had different kind of powers, but mind was mostly the key to the use them all. For centuries we have fought over these artifacts and now I am currently locating one of their secret and I would give one other we have found to be your side of the job. It’s something we haven’t for sure got to know. Looks like some kind of a helmet, but I don’t really know what it could have in the means of power.” Kenway gave one Hell of a speech for sure and it made me really interested. These pieces of Eden seemed to be something ancient and powerful and possibly dangerous, but I still said yes. I decided to only do this for Cassie.

After gaining my approval, this mysterious Haytham Kenway left the room and here I am sitting and writing. Mostly waiting.

 

**April 29th, 1777**

When I finally got to the camp Cassie was happy and worried about me. I told her that we were going to move into a house again and she was just beyond exited and probably happy too.

We actually left all of the stuff we had into the tent, except for our clothes as we moved. There really were some supplies only a homeless person would need. The house, or more like apartment was in the middle district of Manhattan, closer to the eastern harbor than the burned houses. We finally went to see the old house again and bring some flowers. It was a short trip, but it is done at least. It felt really weird to sleep in a bed, but more or less get used to living inside again.

Today I finally got my membership of the templar order. The ceremony was nothing fancy, but formal for sure. There were few other guys and the grand master, who gave me the ring of the templar and said ”May the Father of understanding guide us.” and I was supposed to repeat it with everyone else. And that moment it was basically over. Mr. Kenway asked me to meet him the next morning in the same place, but stay at least this night with Cassie because I was going to have a lot of work to do starting from the morning.

So I went home and we went to shopping for food, which still felt weird. Tonight we were going to have some pancakes for us finally starting to make a fortune without stealing.

We had some good time baking together and especially eating. Cleaning sure was something we both wanted to avoid, but we weren’t living in a tent anymore, so we had to start keeping the apartment clean.

As I write this, everything feels like it was back at the first time I wrote this journal. She’s leaning to my side, sleeping and I’m writing this journal about a thing that will probably change our lives for now.


	2. The new hope

**May 4th, 1777**

It has been few days since my work with this Piece of Eden started. Everything about it is just so interesting and new and weird. I want to learn more about it, but yet I don’t even have the piece itself before my eyes for a closer look. I’ve only got some old scripts and some very hard to understand Codex pages. They still haven’t got the translations from Italy, but that’s understandable. Italy is far away across the sea. Anyway, the other templars have told me about these caves that I could go to see when I feel like it. They apparently might have some information about the piece. All they’ve told me about it is that it’s some kind of helmet. No idea for what use, but apparently because it’s one of the pieces, it is important to have then.

Otherwise it’s been quite nice with us. Me and Cassie, I mean. Even though I haven’t got as much time for her as I used to, we still do much together. I must say that I feel sorry for her, but I really have to do this job that we can live in this house. Maybe after few years we can afford our own house, or apartment and we don’t have to bother these guys with us being here.

Cassie has settled down well. The teacher she got is really nice and now she actually doesn’t have to just wait for me to come home.

I must say that maybe the worst part of this job is, that I can’t talk about it to anyone. They say it’s for my own safety, but shouldn’t this kind of revolutionary things be aired out to the people too? They said I shouldn’t even record it to anywhere, except for the reports. But I’m not the one playing with all the rules.

 

**July 12th, 1777**

I have visited the caves they told me about, but there was nothing there. Well nothing I’d need, of course. I didn’t see any paintings about any helmet looking thing so I guess the caves are a dead end. Now the translations have arrived though. They weren’t much of any use because the ship they came with almost went down on some storm. They really got wet and now they’re hardly of any use to this research. It’s too bad, because I really much would like to know more about the whereabouts of the helmet to get it and finally start the real work trying to figure out how it works and what it does.

I must say that the Codex was somehow useful. I by myself figured out that the information about this helmet would be found on this area. Or more like the big forest around here, so I sent some scouts to see if there were more than one of those caves or even rocky walls or something. They haven’t yet come back, but the forest is huge.

I’ve noticed one thing about my own behaviour changing while I work. Now I seem to be on a routine. It has made my life a lot easier, but then again I find it somehow boring. Maybe I miss that feeling of being homeless because it’s full of adventure and excitement of will there be food for the day or not. Sometimes I have taken a break and went to the forest myself maybe to look for that adventure or something. Normally it’s just the same boring routine every day.

 

**August 7th, 1777**

I’ve seen him from the corner of my eye. Every time I sit in the Black horse tavern around the eastern side of the harbors thinking of the progress of my work, I see him sitting in the corner table and watching me. I can feel it in my back. He has the hood of an assassin and a bow of the natives. I haven’t seen his face for good reasons, one he has the hood so it’s hard to see and two I don’t want him to know that I know about him. Well that sounded weird, but you know how it works if he notices me watching him back. I’m rather curious about this one though. I mean if he’s here to kill me, then why doesn’t he act?

I’ve heard that the assassins always take their target as fast as they just can, after getting enough information of their targets movements but this one has been there for couple of weeks and he has had some good opportunities to take me down, but he hasn’t. Few times I’ve thought of going to talk to him and actually try to play with it and then maybe find out what he’s after. But as you see, I haven’t got the courage to do that yet. Maybe later. I have to go back to work.

 

**August 21st, 1777**

The scouts are dead. Apparently they found something interesting they shouldn’t have. They say it’s all because of the natives are getting pissed for us disturbing their territories. There’s no reason in starting a war with them, but I don’t see what Mr. Kenway is trying to do about this by doing this on purpose. But he speaks of something like ‘without sacrifice there is no light in the future’ kind of thing so I guess it’s okay if they don’t really start a war.

This is going to be a short note. I’m going to home for the rest of the day to think of something else for at least this day.

 

**August 28th, 1777**

Today was a really.. I don’t even know how to describe it.. Just really weird and maybe a little awkward too.. But hey, at least I finally got to know who the mysterious man in the hood is!

The day started quite normally with me going to work and Cassie staying with her teacher. Later I decided to go to the Black horse again, just to have some people around me and all that noise and music. It helps me concentrate sometimes.

This time the assassin wasn’t sitting in the corner table. It felt so weird, he usually was there at this time. Well it didn’t take a long time until he revealed himself.

Just when I was going to take a drink, I felt someone grab my arm with so much power and when I finally got to take a look at who had grabbed me, I saw him. He had took us outside and to some alley near the tavern. I already thought that this was the end of my line, but then the most miraculous and definitely awkward thing yet in my life happened. As I was standing there waiting for the blade to meet my throat, instead of it I felt something warm touch my lips.

There it was. The man really kissed me?! Why, I wondered for a long time and still do, but I guess it is okay in every other way than doing something to a person you don’t even know!

Anyways, after that I opened my openly shocked eyes to meet his face just so close to mine, too close. His eyes were blue. That was one more thing to add to his gear list, but made me sure that he wasn’t a native like that other guy back then. In the end I still pushed him away, this assassin who had just attacked me, if I can say it that way. He just stood there without saying anything. That sure was odd.

“What.. Was that for?” I finally asked after I knew he wasn’t going to say anything. There it was again, the silence. Could this man even speak, I thought, or what if he’s deaf?

“What do you think it was?” he finally spoke. That was maybe not the answer I was looking for, but I had no idea what kind of a man was this one and was he here to kill me or not.

“Are you drunk? I’m not a woman, you know..” I asked even though I knew he wasn’t drunk, I couldn’t smell any alcohol.

“That’s not what I was looking for. Oh.. Am I frightening you? It might be really scary when someone like me comes around in a hood like this and with a hunting bow and you know all this stealth and stuff..” he started to talk and actually sounded pretty normal. Now that I finally saw his face I really was surprised of how he had none of these features of the natives, but then again he didn’t seem to want to kill me. Though I wasn’t so sure what to think of his actions towards me. It’s probably out of my area. Well, who knows.. I think he looked pretty, but okay.. Back to the dialogue!

“I guess you’re not here to kill me, are you?” I asked and moved away slightly.

“No, of course not! Why would I kill a civilian? It’s against the brotherhoods rules.” Well this guy sure was openly an assassin.. And apparently he didn’t know about me being his enemy in arms, but who knows where this is leading from the normal people view.

“So…. Why did you just.. kiss me?” I made sure there was no one before saying it. I think they still stoned these people if they came out. And I didn’t want to be one of the stoned ones for sure.

“Isn’t it obvious? I think I might like you, mister..?” I deeply sighed to that moment.

“Lang.. And how can you know you like me if you haven’t even met me before this moment?” I demanded to know, but if he didn’t know I was a templar, I bet he didn’t know anything else about me either.

“Well… You always seemed such an interesting person. Just sitting there and thinking so deeply that you didn’t even notice it when I came to sit next to you.” This made me think twice coming back to this place.

“When exactly has that happened??” I think I might’ve panicked a little, again. So apparently I did doze off to my own world sometimes and didn’t really notice anything..

“That has happened now quite a few times..” he answered so purely innocent despite the fact that he was an assassin. Probably killed many people too.. And here he was, chatting with me of all the other people in that whole tavern. I rubbed my temples as I tried to think what the hell should I have done next. There were few options, including running away, but that wasn’t my strongest side so I didn’t even try. I just stood there waiting for him to do the next move.

“Should we move back inside? Would be a lot more comfortable to talk, if you don’t feel like hanging me?” he asked and I just shook my head. He seemed like a nice person, so of course I didn’t want to stone if that seriously even is the practice anymore? I haven’t been in many, more like none of these acts so I have no idea. We started to make our ways inside again and we sat on the table he used to sit. Apparently it was his spot. I had never seen anyone else sit on it.

“So your name is Lang? Do you have a full name? Sorry! I almost forgot to introduce myself! I’m Clint Barton, just someone trying to clean up this city from some bad guys.” He looked at me with an exited look. How in the Heaven had I become his idol anyway?? Well I still decided to play along.

“Scott.. Scott Lang.. Bad guys? Are you talking about the Redcoats?” I asked even though I thought I knew the answer. I just wanted to test him.

“Well partly yes, but they’re part of something bigger than the British army.” He looked around as if he was going to say something no one was supposed to hear, and went on: “The templars. They want to take over the whole country and rule it with their ideals.”

Well at least the assassins were not far from the part where we probably were going to do so. But to take over the country sounded a little exaggerated to me. We just wanted order, or so I had understood from the speech of the grand master.

“It seems like this is something not every citizen knows. Why are telling this to me?” I thought that I could be a normal guy again. For him of course. Well if I came out to be a templar, I think he’d kill me despite of how much he seemed to like me.

“I think I can trust you.” He smiled and that made me rethink my choice. Well I still had Cassie to take care of so I couldn’t lose my life to this kind of occasion.

Thinking about Cassie made me wonder what time it was. I thought it was still too early for going home, so why not leave the native problem out of my thoughts for some time and maybe even get to know this guy.

“I hope you’re making the right decision. I might surprise you one day.” I said without looking at him. “But why the hood? Do you have some code name or something? Where do you come from?” I tried to avoid any more questioning about what I had said by changing the subject. He seemed a little confused but apparently didn’t care of it anymore.

“Well I’m not allowed to talk about much with strangers, as you referred us to be, but they call me Hawkeye on their language. I don’t speak much of it, but somehow to understand the basics.” He told me and I started to think what was life with the assassins.

“Whose language? You mean the natives?” I asked and he nodded. “It must be hard for you to be among them.. They don’t really let anyone near their territories..”

“I have a history with them. That’s all..” he seemed pretty nervous and didn’t seem to want to talk about it.

“Well… I think I should go back to work now..” I said. There was really no reason in staying here any longer. Besides this started to feel weird. I shouldn’t be digging into the personal things of someone I just met.

“Will you meet me again? I promise I won’t do anything weird!” he seemed to mean what he had said. It made me think twice. In the end I had nothing against being with him, and especially if he wasn’t going to try anything, then why not..

“Sure..” I said with a little worry which actually faded away as soon as I saw him smile at me so happily.

“Okay! Meet me here whenever you feel like it.” He smiled and I nodded and waved a goodbye for him before turning my back. This sure was one of the weirdest things I had got myself into. Well we’ll see when I’ll him meet again..

 

**September 4th, 1777**

It’s been a week since I saw him. I really haven’t thought of meeting him again. Again, as always, I’ve been so busy trying to find that helmet that I had no time to think of anything else. Everything is just always a dead end. Every time either way the scouts never return or there is nothing in the are they scouted..

I never thought of this, but could the assassin know? Do the natives know? What if they knew and all of the answers to my problem lie just ahead of me if I choose to do the right thing? Well I don’t see any bad in that. It’s still research and the day is still young.

__________________________________________________

So I went to see this Barton kid. Well yeah, he might’ve been taller than me, but not older.

The chatting went on and on as he spoke of the hunting trips he had gone the week I thought of going there and of course he told me how grateful he was to see me. He thought he wouldn’t see me anymore, so that made him happy. I just sat there and listened and waited for my turn to speak. Finally he went silent.

“Well.. It has been quite nice talking to you.. I know this might sound a little weird but do you know any cave where would be paintings about a helmet? I’m doing research about those things and that helmet picture would be one lethal thing in my research.” I explained.

“I guess I do actually.. Or I do know someone who probably knows. Would it please you if I took you to him?” This guy trusted me too much, I felt bad for him, but this would definitely help me to finally earn my pay.

“Yeah, why not, if it’s not too much trouble to you?”

“Yay!” he said and he stood up. “Let’s go then!”

“Now?” I wasn’t fast enough to stay in his pace.

“Yes, come on!”

“Okay, okay. I’m coming!”

____________________________________________________

He led me through the forest with such a pace that I almost lost him a couple of times. Luckily he didn’t use his tree climbing skills because then I would definitely have lost him. After some time running around, he stopped and signalled his hand for me to do so too. We were at some cave for sure, but this one was around the darkest part of the forest. No wonder the scouts were afraid to go to this place. It felt like someone was watching your back all the time.

He said something in, apparently the native language and got an answer that sounded slightly different.

“The sage has given you a permission to go in.” he told me and waited for me to go first. I didn’t really want to go to some dark cave with some ‘sage’, whoever he was. Though he seemed to know about the helmet, so I needed to talk to him.

The cave sure was cold and dark, but the sage looked like a normal man, an old one, but still completely normal. No old and tattered clothes, just.. normal.

“What is it that you want to know, child?” the sage asked and gave an evaluating look at me, just like Haytham had.

“He wants to know about the helmet. I trust him, so it should be okay.” Barton defended me. So foolish, yet so pure. Too bad I needed to get the helmet or I was going to lose everything again.

“You do? Well.. in that case. As I am a civilized man I’ll offer you my name. I am Hank, better known as the sage. I see things that are related to these pieces of Eden… And I know about the helmet you’re looking for too.” This Hank the sage told me and offered his hand in exchange of my name.

“I’m Scott.” I shook his hand and for a moment we shared looks, both evaluating the other.

“Very well.. where should we begin?” Hank asked when he sat down again.

“I need to know where the helmet is.” I answered simply. Clint looked unpleased. Maybe he thought I only wanted to know about it and not own it. “Please, it’s important to me. Well to us.. I need to keep my daughter alive and can’t do it without the helmet.” I looked to see Clint’s reaction.

“Daughter.. You have a daughter?” he asked before Hank could continue.

“Well that’s interesting, but I won’t let you just take it without knowing how to use it.. Come back here tomorrow, alone if you please, and I’ll start from the beginning.” Hank informed and I must say that I was a little surprised.

“Now shoo, I have my own business to attend to.”

And so we left the cave and started to walk peacefully towards the city.

“You have a daughter?” he asked me again when we were at some distance away from the cave.

“Yes. I do.” I answered quickly.

“Do you have a wife then?” he seemed a little disappointed.

“Nope.. She’s not around anymore.” I kept it short again.

“Good..” he said and didn’t say anything else until he said goodbyes to me and ran off again. I just shook my head and made my way back to the city and back to Cassie. She didn’t have to know about this weirdo.

 

**January 6th, 1778**

It’s been a long time since I last had any time to write this journal. There was always something.

First of all I have been running in and out the forest on Hank’s lessons about the helmet for as long as I can remember and apparently he’s not yet giving me the helmet that seems to have something to do with shrinking its wearer. I mean that’s all I’ve got out of him so far, he just can’t keep it to the point and is always warning me about everything that the helmet can do if the mind is not strong enough to wield it. Otherwise I’ve been working normally. I actually pretend to understand the Codex from some paintings I’ve found and everyone is just adoring me, but that’s not important.

I have had more or less time for Cassie.. She seems to be upset about it sometimes, but I hope she understands that I have to work for the house and everything. This time we had a warm Christmas and a New Year. That made her happy too. So basically we’re quite good at the moment.

Then this Clint.. Well he’s been around quite often, sometimes even when I am learning about the helmet with Hank. We’ve gotten to know each other better now and he hasn’t tried anything weird so far. Though I’ve started to like him more. It just feels different when he’s with me. Especially when we’re alone. I don’t know.. Maybe I have fallen for him. I still can’t say for sure, but only time will tell.

The wars have been on and off for a while. I think we might be in the middle pushing them on to each other. Not that they still have my loyalty and thanks, but I think I might not care for their ideals that much. I’m not sure about that either. It’s complicated. It’s complicated and I’m confused.

I was hoping to make a longer note but apparently there isn’t anything else to tell this time. I just hope everything is going to be alright.

 

**February 22nd, 1778**

This Charles Lee, master Kenway’s secondhand man, has asked about my research on the helmet. My reports haven’t really given him any specific information on how to use it or anything else that would reveal me to have some inside knowledge. I had decided long time ago to not to tell about Hank to them or even Cassie. I’m still waiting for the right moment to tell it. I bet that Hank wants to be left in peace, so I’m not going to tell at least his whereabouts to anyone.

I hope it wouldn’t be long anymore that Hank would let me have the helmet. Or at least its location if he doesn’t have it with him. I’ve really learned one or two things more about it and Hank has been preparing my mind to be stronger, or the power of will more precisely. He told me that the mind will broke if it’s not strong enough. Well that is just one of the reasons why I’m not so sure am I even going to wear the helmet myself. I mean why should I? I don’t even know was I supposed to use it or not. They haven’t told me about that yet. Probably they want to see it before giving me further instructions. And they haven’t yet thrown me out so it means that they need me. Well whatever it is, it better be safe for me.

I must make note of the constant flirting I get from Clint. I try not to make it anything big and it doesn’t bother me that much anymore now that we’re more like friends, but it doesn’t really offend me so I let him do it. Maybe I even like it and now we’re talking about a big maybe! My feelings for him haven’t come to any more clearness in these last months than they have been since we met each other. He still doesn’t want to kill me so apparently he doesn’t know I’m a templar. I intend to keep it that way unless he himself finds out from the brotherhood or something.

 

**March 14th, 1778**

I finally got my feelings cleared today. Not sure if I liked the way so much, but can’t say I didn’t enjoy it even a little.

It was really early in the morning when I woke up. I really hadn’t been up before about ten o’clock but this morning I got a visitor. And no, it wasn’t Clint, but sure hell important one he was. Haytham Kenway came in person to see how I had proceeded. He stood in the lobby as I ran the stairs down still buttoning my shirt and brushing my hair to look even a bit decent.

“Where’s the fire?” I asked and he gave me a short laugh.

“I just came to pay you a visit to check how you are doing with the assignment I gave you.” He told me and I showed the way to the small living room which was basically in the same space as the kitchen and dining room.

“Do you want anything to drink, master?” I asked politely as I went to the kitchen and saw him sit down on the couch.

“And what do you have then? Basically coffee or tea will do.” He answered and I nodded while putting some water on the stove.

“Coffee it is.” I told him and took everything I needed for the preparing the coffee. The water still needed to boil, so I just walked across the space and sat down on the other side of the couch. “You came to see my progress?” I wanted to confirm even though I remember him saying it clearly while entering.

“Yes, that’s quite right. So, show me what you have got.”

“Well I don’t have my things here, but I guess it’s okay if I only tell you? Haven’t you got the reports or do they stay in the lower departments..?” I asked, maybe too much, but the master didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

“Yes, it is okay and they indeed don’t send the reports to me. Charles might’ve got them, but apparently he doesn’t see it that important for me to know about it. Of course your research is important, but Charles is sometimes like this.” Mr. Kenway stated and I heard the water boil in the kettle.

“Excuse me for a moment.” I stood and got a small nod as an answer. I went to prepare the coffee and soon after that came back to sit on the couch with the coffee cups. I gave him the other cup and he blew away to his coffee to make it a little cooler and took a tiny sip of it. I placed the cup on the table in front of the couch.

“I have figured out from the Codex that the helmet shrinks its wearer by the willpower from the subjects mind. And as the other pieces, it has side effects too. Mostly if the subject uses the helmet for too long it starts to damage the brain and if the subject is not wielded with a mind strong enough to handle it, it doesn’t even work. That’s basically all so far.” I listed him. This was really miraculous how I had just ‘figured it out by myself from the Codex’, so I hoped he was not actually here to get the truth out of me.

“That’s impressive. I was clearly expecting much less. You have earned your place on this operation. I’m just speechless.” Master Kenway complimented me and drank more of his coffee. Apparently he seemed to be in a rush anyway.

“Well thank you, master Kenway. Your compliments make me humble.” I tried to keep the nice face on. I heard some steps coming from the stairs.

“Good morning daddy!” Cassie ran over me and hugged me burying her face to my shirt.

“Morning sweetie. This is my boss, so you don’t have to be scared.” I told her and she finally turned to face the Kenway who shot me a look what I figured meant ‘does she know’ or something. I mouthed him back that she doesn’t so he kept the role on.

“Hi there. I’m indeed his boss and my name is Haytham. Cassie, I presume? Good to finally meet you.” He smiled at her and Cassie smiled widely back.

“Good morning mister Haytham! Has daddy been nice at the work? He’s always so late back home…” Cassie asked and I laughed shortly.

“Well of course he is. He’s helping a lot with his work so you’d better be proud of your father.” Master kept playing along. He had finished his coffee and placed the cup on the table.

“But I think I will have to leave now. I have other meetings I urgently have to attend to. I’ll see myself out.” He stood and I did too at the moment. “Good meeting you, Cassie. And keep up the good work, we’ll discuss about further instructions when you’ve found the object. Until our next meeting!” he shut the door after leaving and we went to finally have a proper breakfast. After that I was going to meet Hank again.

 

________________________________________________________

As I wrote, I was going to meet Hank. There shouldn’t have been anything different in this time than all the others. But when I finally got to the usual place, I only found Clint leaning to a tree.

“Where’s Hank?” I asked confused of the situation and looking around to maybe find him somewhere hidden from my sight.

“He’s not coming. I’m giving you some lessons today. You know the useful stuff if you need to run away from the templars or something.” Clint shocked me for a moment, but if he would have known, he would’ve just laughed with me. I still laughed at the thought of a templar running from templars, but made it sound like I laughed at idea that I needed some physical exercise. Which I doubted I needed.

“Okay.. So are you letting me inside your assassin circles or what? I can take care of myself.” I told him and got his own kind of evaluating stare as an answer.

“You’ve put on some weight since I first saw you in the Black horse..” That made me look twice at my own body.

“Really?? Can you tell by just only looking at me from there?” I asked as surprised as ever.

“Let’s just say that I can see better from a little farther away..” he answered shortly. “And yeah.. Have you started eating properly? You were awfully skinny back then.”

“So it’s about that.. Well I guess I have lost my touch a bit. Haven’t exactly had the need to steal the food for about a year from now so I guess my skills might’ve got a little rusty.” I tried to save myself, but that was actually true so there’s probably some good in this training too.

“Ooh.. Sounds like someone was a thief before.” He said almost laughing and I shot an unimpressed glare at him. “But past is in the past so let’s start the training, my dear.” He stood to stand properly and apparently thought what method would he kill me first with. But as I wrote previously, here came the flirt.

“Why don’t we take a test and see how long you can run on the forest floor. It’s not as easy as it might sound like. Stay off road and always try to avoid going to one, even for just crossing it. Climb, jump or whatever seems like the best option to go over the road, if you must.” He kept silent for a second. “The destination should be at the Boston light at the eastern shore. Or what’s left of it.”

“It’s quite far.. But that won’t stop me from going there today!” I tried to look confident but I had no idea of how long would that distance take from me. I just hoped I could make it back before night. I hadn’t told Cassie I could be staying the night. Well of course I hadn’t because I had no idea how this training day would’ve turned out to be. He gave me some clothes looking like his and said something about how they were better for running than my own clothes, so I changed as fast as I could and came back looking like an assassin, without the hood on.

“Well then let’s hurry!” he said and climbed to the closest half fallen tree and from there he jumped to the closest branch on the next one. “Oh! And I’ll keep the wild animals far, so you don’t have to be scared of them too!” he turned to face me for the last time and then he was off. And so was I.

The running didn’t feel like anything for some time, but after some hills it started to take the juice out of me. Clint though stayed positive and cheered me especially on the hills and every time I almost gave up. I still think that a year ago I couldn’t have done any better. I was a sprinter, and I think I still am. Long distances are so… long.. You know what I mean.

Before that one very big hill I hadn’t seen any animals yet. Either way Clint had kept them away from me or they didn’t just need any food at the moment. But that hill gave me creeps. There really wasn’t any trees so I knew I had to find Clint again after crossing it. The hill was good in one way though. I could see the lighthouse remains and the cliff it stood on, so now I finally knew exactly where to go. But as I was writing, no animal sightings yet until this hill.

When I finally got to go down the hill I heard silent growling. I had no idea what it could’ve been or where exactly it came from, but I knew it wasn’t any good. I ran faster, as much as I could after the mile I had already ran.

On every step I took the growling came closer and got one more member. I already could see the trees, but I didn’t see Clint anywhere. The moment I realized the growling came from a pack of wolves, I really wanted to see Clint so badly. I didn’t have any weapon so I really couldn’t have possibly defended myself against the whole pack of them. If I tried to climb I wasn’t sure would I make it in time anyway. So I just ran and hoped that Clint would come to save me.

I heard the wolves come closer and probably if I had turned around that moment, I would’ve seen them. When I got down the hill and was almost out of breath I noticed that the wolves had cornered me and badly they had. I faced a rocky wall which seemed to go around the whole place. There was no escape. I stopped running and finally faced the hungry wolves. I tried to steady my breath, but after all that running and being afraid of becoming eaten, it was just so hard to do.

The wolves came slowly closer with bare white teeth showing. They looked like they were grinning for my bad fortune. But when the situation started to look final suddenly an arrow split the air in front of me and landed in the feet of the wolves. They turned to look where the arrow had come from, and so did I. To my relief it was Clint. I felt easier at that moment, but when the wolves didn’t seem to care about it, I tried to move a little and maybe sprint away when the right moment came, but it never apparently came. The biggest wolf ordered one of the others to take the position in front of my escape route. I cursed out loud and heard Clint laugh shortly, but then he became serious again. He shot another two arrows at the wolves and now hitting the one in the right side of the biggest wolf, which I’ll call alpha for now on. That made them take some steps back, but just to sprint forward with jaws opened. There really wasn’t too many of them, just like some five or six, but still it was hard for me to keep dodging and running around away from their deadly jaws. Clint shot a few of them until there was basically the alpha and one normal one left. The alpha was clever and apparently didn’t want to lose any more fellows on this hunting trip and they retreated with grim looks on their faces.

When I finally got a moment to take a proper breath, Clint came down from the cliff he had stood shooting a minute ago.

“Are you okay?” he rushed to see me and looked at my face with all the worry in the world. I sighed but answered:

“I am now, thanks to you.. That was pretty terrifying though..” I looked at his face and his expression changed instantly when I told I was afraid.

“Aww, little Scotty was afraid. But then the brave knight Clint came to save him and they lived happily ever after.” He laughed and then turned serious while looking at the wolves he had killed. One of them was still barely alive.

“Come, I’ll show you how the natives make a holy kill.” As he said that I just couldn’t be mad at his other comment. I was quite interested about that holy kill. First he took me to the one still alive and took a little knife from his belt. He slit the throat of the wolf and placed it to rest on the ground.

“Okay. So first when you kill an animal, you must really respect it for all that it has done in its life, because all life is precious. The more the animal fights the more it wants to live, so remember that. But the thing that makes this a holy kill is that you don’t leave the animal just lying there with all the cruelty. You must remove any weapons from it, if there is, and next you must pray for the spirits to let its soul rest. And of course beg for forgiveness for what you yourself have done to someone else.” I nodded as he added new things to this holy kill category in my mind. So he removed the arrow from the wolf and said something in some native language and looked like he really meant it. So he did with every wolf and soon he had few not broken arrows more to use again.

“I didn’t think you believed in their spirits.. Or to any godlike things at all..” I said after we went forth towards the lighthouse again.

“Well I mostly do it because I’m used to it. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t care about them any more than you do. But of course I don’t like killing them, I just had to protect you so I think their spirits will rest in peace.” He told me and I think it was really quite interesting hearing something about him too. He really hadn’t told me anything personal about himself.

“But hey! If you intend being back at the city by the sunset you have to run!” he said more cheerfully after a short silent moment.

“You’re quite right..” I sighed and thought of Cassie. That’s when I started to run again and Clint climbed back up to the trees to get a better look of the surroundings.

So I guess I can just skip all the running, because there really wasn’t any other notable accidents after the wolves. When we reached the lighthouse we went to the edge of the cliff where the tall building used to rise from, before the British blew it up back in 1776, to get a better view at the water. There was at least 26 feet fall to the deep water around the cliff.

I saw Clint back out a little and just when I turned to see what he was up to, he pushed me off the cliff! I must admit that I did scream, quite loudly too. But hey if you get thrown off a cliff, who wouldn’t? Soon after I got to the surface again he dove beautifully balanced right next to me. I covered my eyes for not getting any water to them while he hardly splashed it at all. When he came to the surface again I shot him a look that would’ve killed him if looks could kill.

“Why in earth would you do something like that?!” I shouted at him and he just laughed. I sensed happiness in that laugh. I shook my head and swam to the shore just a little right from where we were floating. He came to the shore just after me and I tried to figure out how to dry my clothes which were borrowed anyway.

“That was fun, right?” he asked me and I shot a frustrated look at him.

“How am I supposed to dry these things? They weight a ton at least.” I asked while taking the outer robe, with the hood, off.

“If we take them off and put to some sunny spot on the rock, they should be dry after an hour or so. But why don’t we spend the night here? It’s perfectly safe! There’s that little cabin the British missed right under that cliff.” He pointed at the same direction as the lighthouse remains. But staying the night was not the thing I had planned. Though the sun was setting and in the night time the forest was a little too dangerous with no light and weapon for me.

“I guess there’s no other option.. Fine, lead the way.” I sighed and he took me by the wrist and probably dragged me half the way up and down to the cabin. It was small and probably the place where the keeper of the Boston light had stayed when it still was there. When we entered, it was empty and there was some blanket like pieces around. Clint took one large enough and walked outside to take his wet clothes off and to put them on the rocks to dry. I did the same thing but inside the cabin.

When I was ready, I put the blanket around my body and took the clothes next to Clint’s. He had sat down to look at the sunset and I sat next to him. Not too close, but not far either.

“So.. Was either of your parents a native? Because you sure don’t look like one.” I asked after a short silence. He looked at me with a little confusion in his eyes, but apparently he wasn’t ashamed to say the following.

“No. Both of my parents were from New York and all.. I just… Well I’ll tell you a little story of how I got to know this much and how I became an assassin. It all started when I was a little boy. My dad was a drunk and one day he took me to the forest and to the native’s territory. He didn’t respond to any of the warnings they gave us and shot him with some poisonous dart. The man deserved it but I was still terrified that I would have the same fate. The native’s saw my potential or something and took me in. From that day on I haven’t seen my mother or brother. But anyways, their village was attacked and I was forced to leave, I found myself from the doorsteps of the assassin the next morning. They took me in the next and I started to get more deeply to the creed and that’s how I’ve become the man I am now. After I became a full time assassin I visited New York and tried to find my family, but all I saw was the burned houses. I don’t know did they survive the Great fire, but if they did, I hope they’re living happily where ever they are now.” He really told a short version of his life story. I was pretty shocked, but I guess that’s a good reason to become an assassin. But the templar order could’ve done better I’m quite sure.. Then he would’ve maybe been able to see his family too.

“My family was separated in the Great fire too. Cassie lost her mother there. She didn’t make it out in time.” I said with sad voice. Clint looked at me with all the empathy the man could possibly have and then moved closer to hug me. I looked at him with no idea what he was going to do next.

“I’m sorry to hear that..” Clint said and surprised me.

“It’s not that big anymore.. I’ve got over it already.” I said and without thinking leaned my head to meet his. That seemed to have been some trigger for him to start doing his usual.

“Are you already that much over it that you could start going out with someone else?” he asked and I raised my head and he did so too.

“And you’re the first one on the line? Probably I wouldn’t mind it, but I don’t know.. Isn’t it illegal to, you know, be in any relationship with the same gender?” I asked and probably this little emotional moment had made me more open too. As I previously wrote about the feelings I may have for him, I started to think I was quite right.

“But if no one knows, we’re completely safe.” He tried to convince me and by the same time he kissed my cheek, but this time I didn’t do anything to stop him.

“The sunset truly is beautiful.” I said and changed the subject to make some time to figure out how I really felt.

“But it’s just a tool to make you look even more beautiful.” He said and I finally turned to look at him.

“Oh please you’re the pretty boy if we take it from the two of us!” I teased and smiled. I guess it was there then. I decided to test how it felt from my view so it was my turn to kiss him. He sure didn’t resist it at all unlike I had when he first kissed me a long time ago. So the kiss turned out to be a long one and at the end of it, Clint had leaned over me that much that we were basically lying there, he on top of me. I put my hands on his bare chest and gave him a disapproving look.

“Oh no, oh no, no, no, no!” I stopped him and he looked a little confused. “If someone’s topping, it’s me!” I said because I had no intentions of getting fucked by someone younger than me.

“Not if I’m stronger!” he argued and moved completely on top of me and I was trapped in the middle of the still somehow warm rocky ground and his body that was getting quite hot already.

“Damn you and your power over me!” I cursed playfully as he kissed me again. “But seriously. No fucking, not yet!” I made my terms clear and he nodded. I lifted my upper body and left my hands to the ground there to keep me up as I remembered Cassie.

“How should I tell Cassie about this? She deserves to know even though she might not understand so well.. She’s a smart girl, so she should be okay.. But still..” I started to panic a little bit.

“Can I finally meet Cassie?? That would be like the best thing ever.” He got all exited and his blanket fell off of his shoulders.

There we sat, all naked and he sat on my lap. It felt weird, but that wasn’t the main concern. I had a little bigger problems than what was going to happen next or what Cassie would think of us. I was more concerned about what would my associates and Mr. Kenway say if I slept with an assassin. Well I thought the best way of thinking it would be like that in my personal life it would be Scott Lang having a relationship with Clint Barton, but at work there would be just the templar Lang having a secret relationship with someone.

“I guess you could.” I finally answered looking the blonde to his blue eyes. “You know I never thought I would be having these feelings for anyone like you..” I confessed and he gave me a smile.

“I was just waiting for the right one and he walked straight to me.” He said with a grin.

“You made me walk to you… Remember that you actually grabbed me by hand and dragged me outside to that creepy ass alley..?” I reminded him and gave him an amused look.

“I guess I did..” he laughed.

We slept the night close to each other just to stay warm. Of course we had put all the dry clothes on and took all the blankets we could just possibly find. I didn’t sleep so well while I was thinking about Cassie all the time. I was sure she was alright, but you’ll never know for sure!

The following morning we ran back as fast as possible and when we reached the city I led us to our apartment. I rushed in to just find Cassie sleeping on the couch and I went straight to her and hugged her as she woke up to the door opening.

“Daddy! Where were you!?” she asked with panicking voice, but I could sense relief in it too.

“I’m sorry I went so far without telling you, sweetie.. I’m so sorry.. Now I’m here and never going anywhere without getting you to a safe place with someone!” if I didn’t know how to be gentle I would’ve probably crushed her with my hug.

“Your daddy was lost in the forest and I brought him back.” Clint saved me from making any excuse of who he was. “I’m Clint by the way. I kind of work with your daddy sometimes.” He told and I turned to look at him with a look that told him to quit pushing the story too far.

“But what matters now the most is that daddy is home. Now let’s have some breakfast shall we?” I asked and that is what the three of us did. After that I went to my actual work and we met with Hank later. He wanted to know the story behind his missing student and we told him what had happened, except for the parts that included us being together.


	3. The end of the order

**March 30th, 1778**

It’s been a while since we started kind of going out. We’re still figuring out how to proceed and I’m hoping to stay as a secret templar. I hate this not being completely honest with the person I’d like to be. For Cassie it’s not that important because she doesn’t have to understand such things yet, but for Clint, I just don’t want to lose him for not being honest.

Well enough of the depressing things for this note! Hank has finally said to reveal the last secrets of the helmet! Or he said “You seem like you’re ready for the final things before getting the helmet.” So it seems that I’ll be getting it soon. I already know almost everything I can think of to being important for wearing the helmet and my mind seems to be stronger. I’m still doubting it because he said I should have no worries and no fears that can take control over me. So I don’t know am I mentally ready yet.

My physical training has been quite much like the first one. Though no staying out all night, Clint has made sure that I get home even though I might not be able to walk myself. The training he’s giving me is really hard so that is understandable. But I do enjoy it and it gives me a reason to get better at climbing trees so that the next time I face a pack of wolves I may survive it on my own. But what comes to my actual work as a templar.

Let’s just say that I might be just sitting the days there and trying to figure what to write to the reports. I have been ordered to write a report every day, even though I wouldn’t get anything new out of the Codex. But I still think it suspicious if I just start writing that I don’t have anything new. Of course I don’t have all the possible material so that shouldn’t be strange in any way, but I like to surprise them every time by having new entries. Soon I’ll be running out of things to write without revealing something truly important. Well only really important thing is the location, which I don’t yet even know so there’s no way I’ll do that. I don’t want to lead them to anywhere without knowing the location first.

One other notable thing is that I’ve started to question my faith in the templar order. I know it hasn’t been long since I came under Clint’s propaganda against templars, but still I feel like they might not be the right thing for me. Maybe the reason why I still stay under the order’s wing is for Cassie. I haven’t got enough money in the safe to buy us the house we need. And for what I’ve heard Clint still lives with some other assassin-native village. I might not be in the safest place there.

Otherwise everything is fine.

 

**April 2nd, 1778**

I’m afraid.

I happened to hear about the last month’s casualties while working today. They said that Benjamin Church and Nicholas Biddle were killed by the assassin. They were part of master Haytham’s inner circle, one of his most trusted men. Though I heard that Church was a traitor and he deserved to die, but Biddle was apparently more important. I haven’t really even seen them so I can’t say I would mourn their deaths, but I became instantly afraid of the fact that I might be next. I mean really, I think I’m part of his inner circle in the way that he directly came to me and recruited me. I’ve heard the others say that they have never seen master in flesh, so they, I think, have no instant danger poking their backs.

I just hope that I have remained hidden to the assassin scouts and won’t be killed. I’m doing this for Cassie, even though the idea of order is not that bad if you look at this messy country. I think too that they need a guide to take them to order and not the chaos it will become without a leader.

 

**June 24th, 1778**

It’s been couple of weeks since I finally got the helmet from Hank. He truly had the thing with him all the time and was just waiting for the right moment to give it to me.

At first I thought too highly of myself. I thought I could use it easily without any problem and please master Haytham with my discoveries. It didn’t quite end up that way. I still have a horrible headache and haven’t been able to concentrate at all to my usual work. So as you probably guessed, I couldn’t actually use it, well fulltime. I mastered the whole thing for only about thirty seconds. I shrank down and took one step and then the pain in my head made me grow normal and take the thing off. All I got from Hank was a ‘humph’ and then he told me that I could keep it. I suspect that I was too afraid of Clint knowing I’m a templar double agent, if I could say so, that the fear took over me… I didn’t yet take it to the order, but I will as soon as this headache grows more irrelevant.

Cassie is so worried about me and so is Clint too. I try to not worry them so much, but I can’t really do anything to make this stop. Yesterday this one Mr. Hunter, one templar I worked with, came to ask where I was and I explained that I hadn’t got any messages through and that this headache made it impossible to work. They haven’t actually said anything about me getting kicked out this time either so I guess I’m fine by that. He also shared with me that master Haytham had unfortunately cut ties with his son, one of the lead assassins. Or that more like this Connor had cut ties to master and Washington. I didn’t even know he had a son before that, but I guess he didn’t speak of it much as the guy was an assassin and a native too. That made me think of the assassin who saved my life and he kind of matched the description but I couldn’t be sure because I never got his name.

 

**June 28th, 1778**

So I finally got back to my feet and decided to give the helmet to the templars. I have no idea for what they could use it, but I know they couldn’t use it properly without Hank and his knowledge of it so it should be safe. But now I think that the work with the templars starts and who knows what they want me to do with it.

 

**August 18th, 1778**

I’ve still gone to see Hank and asked him more about the helmet and how should I proceed with my research about it. No idea has he already figured out, but he seems to smile awfully much so he knows something.

Clint does show up quite often too. Sometimes at the house, but mostly when I meet with Hank. That must be the safest way for us to be together with no witnesses and no one to kill either of us. Like I’ve heard of the assassin who turned to templar and had some adventures in the north with master Kenway by hunting assassins I guess. Though that’s all I’ve heard of him, but still quite frightening.

 

**November 7th, 1778**

Today it finally happened what I was afraid of. Someone from the order must have suspected something in my forest walks and followed me to find me with Hank and maybe Clint too. I mean now the order’s got Hank in prison. They brought him this morning. I was shocked to see him walk in the middle of the guard circle towards the prison part of our camp. He didn’t show me any different looks than the other templar agents running around to see the famous sage they had been searching for a long time. Of course I didn’t know about that but that Hunter came closer and said:

“I bet that’s gonna be your next research subject. They finally found him from the caves.”

“Sounds quite harsh for a man to be the subject…” I commented and he looked at me with a short laugh.

“Nay, it’s really quite normal for those people. And I bet he’s in better hands now. Imagine if the assassins would’ve found him first!” Hunter said and I knew they had found him already, but hadn’t really done anything to safe keep the man.

“Well in that case, I guess it is okay…” I played along.

_________________________________________________________

After the working hours had passed I ran to the forest to find Clint at the cave that Hank used to live in.

“Where is he? I haven’t seen him leave the cave for many years. Why would he do this all of a sudden?” Clint threw all the questions in the air and I tried to make some possible solution how I could’ve seen him go to a templar prison without revealing myself.

“I saw some British looking military deliver him to a prison earlier today… Is it possible that they found him?” I told him carefully. Well at least I didn’t lie to him, I just didn’t tell him where I saw him. Besides I let him notice it by himself.

“The templars. It’s impossible. They couldn’t have found us. I’ve been taking out the scouts around this area for as long as I can remember, it’s not possible that someone actually slipped through my watch!” he claimed, but I think this was all my fault. No doubt someone had followed me and I had led them here.

“Well what ever happened they must be stopped. We must save Hank or there will be templars following me around in no time.” I stated with no pleasure of the lie.

“Yes. The one who found him shall pay, but there’s no time for that now. We must get inside the prison without anyone knowing and take what is ours and release him to the nature where he belongs.” He said and the idea of Hank being some kind of an animal to be set free made me laugh shortly.

“Okay then, but how do you think we get in?” I asked with more serious face. Of course I could’ve just walked in but for me being in the prison department was awfully odd so I couldn’t go in with my normal gear.

“Hey why don’t you disguise yourself as a guard and take me to the prison! They never see us coming from that cover! I bet they don’t know who work there so you’d easily pass for a guard.” Clint got exited and I sighed. It might work, but I had concerns about would there be anyone I knew at the moment. Not nice to get busted while trying to do something this important.

“We could try that, but I don’t have any clothes that would pass as the guard uniform.”

“That, my dear, is not a problem! I’ll get you the clothes for tomorrow! Let’s meet at the outer sides of the prison department somewhere around eight o’clock in the evening. We need all the dark we can get in this mission to work.” He said and came closer to place a short kiss on my cheek and sprinted off as fast as I could say ‘see you’.

 

**November 8th, 1778**

Today it truly is going to happen. As a templar, I feel like a traitor not worthy of the title, but as a friend and student, I feel justified to do this to save my mentor. I know they wouldn’t, probably do anything bad to hurt him anyway, but I can’t let them have him because of me.

It is almost time, so I need to kiss a goodnight to Cassie. I know, a little early for a ten-year-old, but I need her to know I won’t be coming home tonight.

___________________________________________________________

We met at the south side of the prison department. He brought me the uniform and I had made sure none of the guys who knew me were there this night. The sun was setting and the cold was spreading its wings over the place. Must be horrible for the prisoners inside. Though I had discovered earlier today that they mostly kept the prisoners they needed for something important here. So according to that here shouldn’t be many prisoners at the time.

As I had changed my outfit, there still wasn’t dark enough. Well it would’ve gotten dark if we entered right that moment and with luck came out in the planned time. But we only needed the dark for the escape so I don’t really know was Clint waiting for the dark just that he himself wouldn’t be revealed too much or what. Anyways he decided that after thirty minutes was a good time to start the mission.

I put the chains on his wrists and picked up the musket. Everything was real, we didn’t have time to get some cheaply done chains that would break in no time, so I put the key to the pouch I got with the outfit. When we checked that everything should be fine, we ran to the corner of the prisons tall brick walls and from there started to walk normally; me poking Clint with my musket as we approached the gates.

“Halt! Who are you and what business do you have in here?” the other guard standing before the gate asked while looking at my face with doubt. Either way he had seen me before or he knew all the guards in this department.

“I’m delivering a prisoner. One of the assassins. He was said to be here for research so I brought him all the way from Boston.” I lied with as much confidence I could get. The guard looked at me with doubt and then looked at the other who just shrugged.

“We weren’t given any message that there would be a new prisoner tonight. State your business right away!” he yelled and luckily I had taken the templar ring with me tonight so I showed it to him behind Clint’s back and the guards facial expression changed immediately.

“Ah, sorry sir. I didn’t know you were coming. Please enter for as long as you please.” The guard opened the other half of the gate. Apparently these guys really were told to bow before the templars.

After we got in and to some distance from the gate, Clint stopped before me and if I wasn’t on my guard I would’ve bumped into him.

“What now?” I asked in character.

“Why did the guard suddenly let us in? What did you do?” he asked and I poked him with the musket to get him moving again.

“I just worked my magic. Is that enough for you? Now move!” I said as we moved closer to the actual doors to the prison building. The guards stood at the entrance and were as confused as the first two at the gates.

“A prisoner going for the research department.” I said and showed the ring right away to avoid the last accident.

“Fair enough. Do you need a guide through the prison? I haven’t seen you around before?” the other one answered. And I froze to this decision I had to make. If we took a guide, he needed to come back so that this other guard wouldn’t have gotten suspicious, so we couldn’t just kill him after showing the way. But in the other way I didn’t know the place at all so I had no idea where we were supposed to go after getting inside and I couldn’t really ask Clint for help in this decision so I made it accepting the risks of not finding the way.

“No thank you. I’ve seen where I need to deliver him.” I told him and we entered the building. It was sure dark. No light anywhere and hardly any windows around. There was a wooden dry floor which didn’t seem as bad as it looked. The cold winters must have taken the best side out of it. Well the most important thing was that it didn’t collapse under the weight of basically anything that walked across it. There were awfully lot of cells, but hardly any prisoners. Just few of them, but they seemed to be sleeping already or too exhausted to move around. I wonder what did they do to them. We faced only two guards who didn’t seem to pay much attention to us at all. I guess it might’ve been so normal for them to see a new prisoner that there was no difference in this one. Clint told me always when we needed to turn. I had no idea then how did he know where to go, but I guess I can reveal already that it was, and is, some kind of sixth sense the assassins have called the Eagle vision. That apparently gives him the ability to see his targets more clearly and track people like dogs. It’s so weird, but I still have to say it seems quite impressive.

So when we finally reached the research department doors, I repeated the now already some kind of routine with the guards and we got in. The room wasn’t so big and the cells there were a lot smaller and in fewer numbers than in the normal side. Hank was the only prisoner in this room.

I dug the key out of my pouch and opened the chains. Clint looked at me with slight respect for getting us so deeply inside an enemy territory as he placed the chains to one table full of paperwork and some injections that didn’t seem to bother him at all.

“Okay Hank. We’re here to get you out.” He said and started to pick the lock of the cell door. Hank moved closer to it and I saw him look at me with a mysterious kind of look. I had no idea what it meant. It seemed like he wasn’t expecting to see me.

Clint was fortunately fast with his lock picking so we were soon done with it. Now we only needed to find a way out for them. I knew I could and I had to walk out of the doors I had entered or the guards would get suspicious and we might even have got revealed. But luckily Clint found a secret door for the scientists who worked down there to use if they didn’t want to be disturbed. There was a small window they could just fit to get out. As I had made sure there was no track of any of us ever being there, I left with all the hopes. None of the guards responded to me any differently as they had earlier. Once I got out I soon discovered that there had truly become dark while we were inside.

Just when I was about to get to clean waters the first guard who had questioned me at the main gate stopped me again.

“I was just wondering, sir, there has not been any British army around Boston in two years. Why would they keep a prisoner there?” he asked and I worked as hard as I could with my excuses. I had never thought anyone would notice that, or more like didn’t notice it myself. I started to wonder why I chose Boston in the first place. There would’ve been so many other locations and I took the one with no British around.

“Well… You see, this one was caught in Boston by our agents and it was my duty to take him to a better place.” I explained and continued trying to look as busy as possible: “But I really need to be off for the other assignments they must have for me waiting in the base. Good night!” I walked away as fast as I could without raising suspicious.

“Good night, sir.” I heard them say when I turned to the path that leads to the forest.

I met with Clint and Hank in about an hour from the time I last saw them. We were at the cave where Hank used to live. He had plans to move away as soon as possible to prevent such acts happening again in some time.

“So where are you moving to?” Clint asked.

“I’m not telling you. This time I think I’ll make a permanent stay in that location.” He answered and looked at me with apparently accusing look. “You are ready to bear the knowledge of the helmet by yourself. You don’t need me anymore.”

I felt bad for already giving the helmet away, but at least the knowledge of it was still in my control.

“Sure thing, mentor.” I said and he gave me an odd look.

“Why all of a sudden start to call me mentor? You could’ve done that a lot earlier, you know. I had to know that you respect me before giving you the helmet. You could’ve gotten it much earlier with that.” He said and Clint looked awfully amused.

“Your people skills are so bad that I might not even be able to handle it!” he laughed and I rolled my eyes for it. I had no idea what that had to do with my people skills, but I left him laughing at his own thoughts.

“Well now I know. I guess I got it right in time.” I said and Hank raised an eyebrow. “There’s no way I would’ve been ready to use it earlier.”

“You will never be able to use it!” he shouted out of blue. “If you don’t learn to control your inner fears of being revealed as something you’re not supposed to be!” he continued and Clint looked at me with concern and confused. That made me think too. Did he know all the time that I was a templar and still let me have the helmet? Did he know I couldn’t actually be calm and use the helmet in the end? Well he sure was a sage, but I had no idea of what they could know. So maybe he knew about me and Clint too, but just kept it to himself. Though that was not relevant. This really must’ve meant that he was not going to reveal himself to anyone anymore.

“So, farewell and live good lives. I hope you can find your ways to the happy ending.” He said and started to walk away with something he had packed with him in a small bag. It seemed for a moment to glow in some golden light, but it disappeared as soon as I thought of seeing something, so it must’ve been nothing.

“What did he mean by you not wanting to be revealed as something you’re not supposed to be?” Clint asked after a minute of silence between us. I raised my head to face him and thought of a good answer to it.

“I don’t know exactly.” I forced myself to lie. There was no way I’d reveal myself to him because of Hank. Just no way.

“Well anyway, you did well on that undercover mission!” he shook it off his mind as fast as Hank had disappeared from our view. “You need a good reward for that.” He continued and embraced me to his warm hug.

“Really..? I think I need to head home.” I tried to get away but he caught me to a kiss.

“Come on! You can stay this night, can’t you? You told Cassie you won’t be home tonight.” He tried to convince me to stay, but I couldn’t possibly let my little girl be home alone after that one night.

“Look, I really can’t. I’m sorry. As much as I’d like to, I just can’t leave her alone.” I tried to push him away without any results.

“Well then let me come with you! She won’t suspect anything if we say we worked late and that I live far away from the city.” He said and kissed my neck.

“You really are a pain in my ass, Clint Barton. But I guess you won’t leave me alone until I say yes…” I had to say yes. There was literally going to be no end to his teasing if I didn’t let him.

So when we got to the apartment, we tried to be as quiet as possible. He even got me convinced to finally have the sex with him what he had so eagerly waited for. That though made it harder to keep our voices down, but at least Cassie didn’t come to see what was wrong so she probably was so deeply asleep that she had no idea what happened in the room next to hers. I’m not a fan of describing these things too deeply even to my own journal, so I’m going to leave the subject to this.

I’m currently writing this entry at my desk while Clint is sleeping in my bed behind me. I have to admit that he’s kind of cute when asleep. Well cuter than usual. He seems to be at peace. I think it’s about midnight so I should probably get some sleep now.

 

**February 23rd, 1779**

I tried the helmet on again today. This time I didn’t only get a headache, which has so far been less aching one, but now I carry some information I’m not sure am I supposed to know. The helmet didn’t work this time either. Or more like it didn’t work as it should’ve. It gave me a vision of some kind. I’m not so sure what it meant, but one thing I know for sure! The things that happened in there were not from this century. Could it be from the future? Or maybe from the Ones who came before Hank was so excited to talk about? I honestly have no idea. I’ll try to describe it as best as I can.

So there was some dark temple like place. There were glowing lights and one glowing figure. A woman. And another who looked like a human, just a man with a white shirt and blueish trousers. I didn’t quite catch their names because the voices were all so loud and kind of screaming over each other. The man touched some pillar coming from the ground and suddenly some odd number thing stopped at zero. I have no idea what that was but something pretty serious it at least looked like.

I went to see Clint and asked if he knew about this kind of thing, but he was as clueless as me. He went to see the natives if they knew any better and he hasn’t come back yet.

 

**March 5th, 1779**

I had to wait for the answer from Clint for almost two weeks. I can understand that the natives don’t want to rush anything, but it still took quite long. Like I know that it doesn’t take Clint many hours to get to the other side of the forest as long as there is trees around. But anyways, today he finally decided to show up here with as much as no idea of what it could’ve been about. The natives didn’t know and apparently he had gone to see some of the tribes deeper in the forest and even beyond it. Still he returned empty handed. Too bad for me. That vision hadn’t left my consciousness at any moment in that whole time, so I haven’t really been able to sleep around this time.

Despite all of the knowledge he couldn’t find, there was one surprise for me though. This Connor, the son of master Kenway, the leader of the assassin’s wants to see me and maybe talk about the vision and things like it. Well I couldn’t turn this opportunity down, so I said yes and at the current moment Clint is delivering a message from me agreeing to meet him where ever he wishes. To be honest I’m a little bit scared. What if he knows my face? What if he wants to kill me after seeing me? Am I a total traitor to the order for keeping these things to myself? I don’t know the answers yet, but I’d hope for not being a total traitor and a target. There’s no turning back anymore so I can’t really do anything else than hope.

 

**March 18th, 1779**

He agreed to meet me today at the harbor around my normal tavern, the Black horse. I don’t know had Clint had something in that, but at least it doesn’t yet seem like an assassination or anything. That still doesn’t put the traitor part away. That I can’t recover anymore. Or I could, but I don’t want to get killed because of it. I can always deny whatever I wish for, if there’s no witnesses which I intend to avoid with everything I’ve got.

_____________________________________________________

So, as I can still write it means that he didn’t kill me yet. He didn’t really have anything important to ask for and he even asked for me to join the rebellion. There’s no way I’d say yes to that and that is exactly the thing I said to him. I said that I didn’t want to be involved into bloodshed. He seemed to understand it. But the thing that I was kind of surprised but then again not, that he remembered me. And yes, he indeed was the person who saved me back then around Christmas. So, I don’t know was my fate sealed by the moment I saw him save me or what but I sure hell don’t know was I supposed to become a templar or an assassin.

Basically it felt really weird to talk about the templars like one of them. Or more like I listened and nodded time to time. Guess I can’t really agree with all they said back then. Master Kenway has some better ideals, but then again I don’t know is he using the right ways to accomplish those goals. Seeing the prison, mostly standing for the templar research department, made me rethink of everything, but then again this meeting with the assassin leaders made me wonder everything again. I’ll consider myself as a free willed templar who might work with some other persons sharing the same thoughts of the things going on.

 

**January 2nd, 1781**

I know it’s been two years since I last wrote this journal. I just haven’t had the time for anything else than work and those two adorable ones. And by work I mean figuring out the vision and covering my ass on Hank’s information and so on. I have to say it’s horrible because I have nothing more about the whole thing. The helmet is just one big mystery nowadays. All the things Hank told me have started to make no sense at all. Maybe it’s my mind that’s going through this huge change and doubt of every little thing these people say about each other. I have no idea how to proceed with my work. I know now that they’re expecting results, but I also know that they’re not expecting me to figure the thing out in any short time, meaning like after about ten years they will kick me out, but I intend to make it in far less time. Though I’ve already spent about three years, but I don’t know do they start to count it from the moment I got the helmet or when I first lay my eyes on the mystery. Well either way I don’t have to worry yet. About the time at least. The fact that I might not be the one to use the helmet and we may not have any subjects to use it quite makes this harder than I thought. I’ll just try to clear my mind and maybe someday I’ll pass the test the Ones who came before have set to the helmet and use it to give the templar order more facts about it.

Anyways, let’s move to the more pleasant things! Everything with my family has been great. Cassie is growing up pretty fast and I try to keep up with her. She doesn’t really have many friends around the neighborhood but I tell her always to look for them. She needs to learn from other people too, not just from her teacher who tells me that she’s making a really good progress with her studies. I know that she might be the most highly educated kid around the area, but I always encourage her to go play and try to forget about the studying and stuff like that for even a second.

What comes to Clint, well he comes to visit us quite often and I can sometimes even find him and Cassie chatting when I come home. Sometimes he comes to visit me privately and some nights he stays with us. Things have really gone quite smoothly with our relationship and Cassie, as she is a smart kid, has said that we’re so obvious while around the house. Well that’s not my fault, of course! But she doesn’t seem to mind it so I haven’t really had to tell him to stop doing stuff like that around the house. If you’re wondering what he’s doing, well mostly just flirting because he either doesn’t want to be too obvious, which hasn’t really worked out that well after all. Still I do enjoy listening Cassie argue about something really obvious with Clint. He doesn’t really get to speak at all.

Otherwise I’ve thought that Clint could move into our house, or apartment, still it has enough room for the whole family thing. Especially as it is not a problem for him to sleep beside me every night. I myself just am not so sure what to think of sleeping with him every night. It won’t be a problem if he doesn’t want to do anything but sleep, but when it comes to those a bit more intimate things, I may not enjoy it every night. I bet he won’t either, but this whole moving together thing is still a lot unsure. Like for example if master Kenway decides to come and visit me like he did some times as the year went on, it won’t be so happy ending for any of us. I have to say that I really like master Kenway. He’s so polite and somehow I like his accent. I think he’s British, but I guess that was obvious too from the moment we met for the first time.

 

**September 16th, 1781**

I lost my journal and finally found it today. That’s not the only thing that happened today, though. Fort George got hit by apparently the French. That I learned when I found my journal. Well why don’t I start from the beginning. And by that I’d saying beginning, I mean from the near future, which is now past, of the time I last wrote.

One night when Clint came over and we had some time together after Cassie had gone to sleep and so on, I wrote the journal, or almost did. He kind of interrupted me by asking what I was writing. Well of course I didn’t want him to know about the things I normally write here so I didn’t get to even start writing before I already had shut the cover and put the pen down. I got to be honest with this, I thought he was sleeping already. Normally he went to sleep a lot earlier than me and that’s when I got my chance of writing. Not this time. But that’s not when my journal went missing. We went to the harbor the next morning and watched the ships arrive and leave and I really would’ve wanted to tell him about my miserable day of getting caught, but I knew he would be interested in hearing more of the story and that’s where my story was not suitable for his ears. So I left in hurry when I realized that I should’ve been to work for some time then and he stayed at the harbor for some more time. Actually I have no idea when he left as I never asked. But more importantly I must’ve really dropped the journal as I left in that hurry. I did keep it with me that morning for later at work if I had time I could’ve written the things I missed the night before. By the evening I had no idea who had it or where did I lose it.

After that Clint didn’t show up in a long time. I really couldn’t reach him with any way so I couldn’t ask if he was busy with the assassins or something and didn’t have time to come and see us. Once I finally saw him on the streets and went to have a chat, he just answered shortly and he definitely seemed really cold towards me. I had no idea what had made him so mad at me, I’d never seen him like that. After that, every time in all this time between the end of January to this day, every time I saw him and maybe exchanged few words, he was really cold and didn’t want to come close at all. In fact he looked like I was just some stranger to him again. For a moment I suspected that he knew about me and my secret that he had got a mission to assassinate me. Then when I didn’t really see him anywhere anymore, I started to concentrate to work and I had to make some lousy explanations to Cassie of how he was too busy to come and visit us.

That’s really all summed up so I will jump back to this day. Earlier today I was instructed to meet with master Kenway and Charles Lee at the Fort George. I seriously had no idea of what was it about, but I went there as I was ordered to. Or more like asked to, this didn’t seem like an order. So as I stood in the half shadow the light coming from the window made, I just listened to what the master had to say.

“As we already went through, Charles, you will leave this city.” The master pronounced and his right hand man didn’t look amused. In fact he didn’t want to leave, but he had no other choice. Apparently master Kenway was waiting for something fatal to hit the place, and I must say that he sure was right.

“And as for you, Mr. Lang, I say that just keep digging and use the helmet, if possible, to make peace and order.” He continued and I nodded.

“I will, master.” I answered too but after some time

“But now! Leave me here and do not come back. I’m expecting someone really foolish but yet important person.” He said with a little sad expression sliding through his face. “And I will be just fine.” He said to Charles who apparently was going to worry about him for some reason. I didn’t really understand what was going on there and stayed quiet. I left slightly after Lee because I didn’t want to talk to him. I still dislike the whole man, like I never liked him. He is alright but he looks like he thinks that he’s some higher being because he’s so close to the grandmaster. Well not that I can do anything about that.

Anyways, I left the Fort in time and got quite far away until I heard cannon shots and when I turned around I saw the Fort being attacked by some ships around it. I wasn’t brave enough to go and see was master okay but I didn’t quite leave either. I just stayed there and watched it get torn apart. I couldn’t have gone there either. There’s no way I would take the risk of Cassie getting left alone by both of her parents dead so I just stood there helpless.

After the shots went silent I started to run to the Fort. When I got there it was all in ruins. I could find the grandmasters dead body there which made me a bit sad as he had been a great leader. I didn’t do much to the body and when I was leaving, I saw another one. It too was familiar but this one was alive. I turned him around and saw something I never thought I’d see again. There were the familiar blond hair all messy and the pale skin and the old clothes he never took off. It truly was Clint. Well of course some reddish blood was coming from his forehead so I carried him to the closest medical attention I could find. And yes, I did carry him. I have no idea where did I get all that strength for it.

When the doctor gave me his stuff and told me that he’ll live, I finally sat down and started to check his stuff. Basically there were his bow and arrows, his coat, which had the hood attached to it and from the coat pocket I found something interesting. It was my journal, with some ripped paper full of a little messy writings. The moment I noticed he had written them, I realized that now he knew I was a templar. That must’ve been the reason why he avoided me back then and until this day. I haven’t really yet read those entries he wrote, but I will. Clint hasn’t yet woken up so I guess now is a good time to think of how do I start the conversation when I finally get to speak with him.

 

**September 17th, 1781**

So I finally read the notes he made to the ripped pages of my journal. I’m going to write them here as they’re not that long.

_‘I’m disappointed. Don’t really know how to describe this any other way. He lied to me. All the time, how do I know he didn’t just want to get to the inner circles of the assassin and one day come and kill us all?! That’s what I don’t know. I read his journal. I know the fact that he had his life pretty hard when he joined, but still! I can’t believe anything he says anymore because of that.’_

_‘I’m so frustrated too… I know he’s trying to look for me but I’m not showing up anymore. I don’t want to see him at the moment. This is too much for me… How do I know if he ever even loved me if he didn’t even tell me that he was a templar? All the time just covering his ass from the responsibility that kept us together, being honest with each other! I told him all that crossed my mind and he just kept silent. I probably wouldn’t even had killed him if he told that. If he had just done it I think I could’ve just been open minded and not judge him from what he is but thought of who he is. I can’t say I hate him, I just can’t stand his company right now.’_

_‘I haven’t seen him in three months. I have no idea has he just stopped looking for me or what but sure haven’t seen him around the places he usually is. I don’t care what happened to him but my good heart just wants to know that he’s okay. And Cassie too, I’m worried about her if the assassins came and killed her father and she was left alone. I would probably take her under my wing if possible.’_

_‘I’ve heard the plans they have for the Fort George. I’m definitely going with them! Though Connor said that he wanted to go in alone but I can’t let him go there alone if there’s going to be lots of templars against him! About Scott I don’t know what I can say anymore. He seems to be too far from my reach by now. He can’t be helped anymore. I just hope he didn’t take the helmet to the templars but I can’t trust in him anymore and not even in that.’_

_‘The day came finally. Today I’m going to follow Connor without him knowing and help him with all that I can! I’m going to be a hero like he is.’_

End of story. That was something I don’t know what to think of at all. He just simply and rightfully mocked me for being a liar. I can’t deny what he wrote to those messy writings of his. I know he can’t trust me and I’d be grateful if he took Cassie in case I was a target but still I believe in him and I hope he could forgive me all this.

I’m too tired for this now so I will leave it to this.

 

**September 18th, 1781**

He finally woke up last night.

I was sitting by his side as I wrote yesterday. I apparently fell asleep in his feet and I woke up in the feeling that someone was poking my cheek. When I opened my eyes and saw who it was I was really not sure how to react.

“Good morning. Or is it evening?” he asked me. I just looked at him with surprised and fearful face and was waiting for what he was going to do about the fact that I had just popped back to his life. I guess he saw through me.

“You don’t have to say anything.” He said when he saw the journal in my hands. “I’m still mad at you. But from what I heard from the doctor that you dragged me all the way here just to make sure that I was going to be okay, made me really think this again. Maybe you deserve a second chance…”

I felt the color coming back to my face as I heard him say the last sentence but I still didn’t get a chance to say anything as he went on.

“But with only one option! You must abandon those false saints! As you know I read your journal and I know that you wondered were you supposed to become a templar or an assassin! Choose a better path and become one of us! The ways the templar order accomplish their so called peace is wrong and you knew it all along! Please don’t make me leave you again. I really missed you deep down somewhere the whole time.” Clint said and I was just at a loss of words at the moment. I really had no idea of what to say but he obviously was waiting for some kind of answer. I sighed and tried to get something out of my mouth.

“Well… If that’s how things are then I guess I could quit, but can I? How does one quit being a templar? Won’t they come after me if they find out I’m a traitor?? I heard what happened to Benjamin Church! Master Ke…- The Kenway’s went after him and killed him. I can’t take that risk now that I have Cassie.” I tried to reason with him. My eyes became wet from the thought. I really just don’t want to die. I looked at the grey blanket and felt him touch my cheek. It made me to raise my head and our eyes met.

“If you really are ready to change, I promise I will take care of that little problem.” He said and then slapped my check not too gently but it didn’t hurt that much. “But you owe me some honesty and you have to answer to every question honestly as I ask them.” He continued and I held my check and nodded slightly.

“I didn’t hear you. Are you going to give up on being a templar and at least become a normal citizen again? In fact if you were to become an assassin I don’t know was I supposed to protect you anymore, so just stay a civilian. That suits you better.” I was still confused but he shot me a look that meant that he was waiting for an answer.

“Uh… I… I will change, for Cassie… and for you…” I smiled slightly and he pulled me to a hug. I hugged back when I recovered myself.

“Say it clearly.” He demanded.

“I will change…” I answered silently.

“Louder, I can’t hear you!” he obviously lied and I laughed shortly.

“I will change for you!”

“I love you, Scott.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy this fic? Well there's more to come! Maybe...  
> Thanks for reading! :)


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